tc_05Richard Coyle trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. His career has spanned film, television and theatre, with one of his early cinema roles being in Mike Leigh’s Topsy-Turvey. It was in 2000 that Coyle got his big break, playing John Ridd in the BBC’s adaptation of Lorna Doone, and Welshman Jeff in the hit BBC comedy Coupling.

In 2002, Coyle made his stage debut in The York Realist at the Royal Court Theatre. That same year, he starred opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Proof. Coyle returned to the Donmar in 2003, starring in After Miss Julie, directed by Michael Grandage. The following year he was to be reunited with Grandage, playing the title role in Don Carlos at the Crucible Theatre in his hometown of Sheffield, before transferring to the West End.

In 2007, Coyle took the lead role in the ITV thriller The Whistleblowers, followed by, in 2008, the role of Dan in first-time writer-director Gerald McMorrow’s film Franklyn. 2008 also saw Coyle return to the stage, this time in Harold Pinter’s The Lover/The Collection at the Comedy Theatre, which was to be the last production the playwright worked on.

2010 is set to be a big year for Coyle, as he stars as Jake Gyllenhaal’s conflicted older brother in Mike Newell and Jerry Bruckheimer’s blockbuster Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. This year, he also plays the lead role of Sebastian Ganz in Renny Harlin’s film about the 2008 war for South Ossetia, Georgia. Plus, he can currently be seen playing opposite Jodhi May in Mark Haddon’s debut play, Polar Bears, at the Donmar Warehouse.

SELECTED CREDITS

Film
2010    Sebastian Ganz, GEORGIA
2010    Tus, the Crown Prince, PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME
2008    Dan, FRANKLYN
2006    Amis, A GOOD YEAR
2004    Alcock, THE LIBERTINE
2001    Joe Jones, HAPPY NOW
1999    Mr Hammond, TOPSY-TURVEY

Television
2007        Ben Graham, THE WHISTLEBLOWERS, Carnival Films/ITV
2007        Jim, THE HISTORY OF MR POLLY, Granada
2004        Catesby, GUNPOWDER, TREASON & PLOT, BBC
2003        John Strange, STRANGE, Big Bear Films/BBC
2001        Michael Cass, OTHELLO, LWT
2000        John Ridd, LORNA DOONE, BBC
2000-2003    Jeff, COUPLING, BBC

Stage
2010     POLAR BEARS, Donmar Warehouse
2008    THE LOVER/THE COLLECTION, Comedy Theatre
2004    Don Carlos, DON CARLOS, Crucible Theatre/West End
2003    AFTER MISS JULIE, Donmar Warehouse
2002    PROOF, Donmar Warehouse
2002    THE YORK REALIST, Royal Court Theatre